Thursday, July 17, 2008

This is not a joke. These 3 songs are about a year or two old. But I haven't heard much since then that's anywhere near as good. Especially since everyone who sings R&B these days rips off T-Pain and drenches their vocals in auto-tune/vocoders.

1. "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys - "Woo Hoo, Woo Woo Hoo." This song is just hard as fuck. I forgot about it till I saw it on On-Demand a few days ago. Girl Talk needs to sample those back-up vocals. I'm not really all that familiar with Girl Talk, though. So maybe he already has. But if not, I suggest that he does. The video is recommendable as well.

2. "Until The End Of Time" by Justin Timberlake and Beyonce - I first heard this song on the radio (WAMO) and instantly liked it. I only caught the last minute of the song, but the end of the song is all Beyonce and she pretty much makes the song. It's got it all as far as modern R&B goes. The strings at the end of the bridge sound like they sampled them from "Loveless". It even has some social commentary at the beginning. This ones for the lovers though.

3. "Me and You" by Cassie - Maybe the video to this song is what originally drew me to it. But it stands up on its own. It's very simple but has the sweetest harmonies and strange 80's synth hooks. And another good bridge as well.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

now i know this story is 25 years old, but i just read about this guy, "lawnchair larry." to me this story is really ridiculous, and had me cracking up... the idea of a guy floating 16 thousand feet above the ground, on a lawn chair, with a sixer of miller lite, a gun, and some sandwiches is really funny. can you imagine what his friends thought as he zipped up into the sky, totally out of sight? absurd. anyways, enjoy...

(1982, California) Larry's boyhood dream was to fly. But fates conspired to keep him from his dream. He joined the Air Force, but his poor eyesight disqualified him from the job of pilot. After he was discharged from the military, he sat in his backyard watching jets fly overhead.

He hatched his weather balloon scheme while sitting outside in his "extremely comfortable" Sears lawnchair. He purchased 45 weather balloons from an Army-Navy surplus store, tied them to his tethered lawnchair dubbed the Inspiration I, and filled the 4' diameter balloons with helium. Then he strapped himself into his lawnchair with some sandwiches, Miller Lite, and a pellet gun. He figured he would pop a few of the many balloons when it was time to descend.

Larry's plan was to sever the anchor and lazily float up to a height of about 30 feet above his back yard, where he would enjoy a few hours of flight before coming back down. But things didn't work out quite as Larry planned.

When his friends cut the cord anchoring the lawnchair to his Jeep, he did not float lazily up to 30 feet. Instead, he streaked into the LA sky as if shot from a cannon, pulled by the lift of 42 helium balloons holding 33 cubic feet of helium each. He didn't level off at 100 feet, nor did he level off at 1000 feet. After climbing and climbing, he leveled off at 16,000 feet.

At that height he felt he couldn't risk shooting any of the balloons, lest he unbalance the load and really find himself in trouble. So he stayed there, drifting cold and frightened with his beer and sandwiches, for more than 14 hours. He crossed the primary approach corridor of LAX, where Trans World Airlines and Delta Airlines pilots radioed in reports of the strange sight.

Eventually he gathered the nerve to shoot a few balloons, and slowly descended. The hanging tethers tangled and caught in a power line, blacking out a Long Beach neighborhood for 20 minutes. Larry climbed to safety, where he was arrested by waiting members of the LAPD. As he was led away in handcuffs, a reporter dispatched to cover the daring rescue asked him why he had done it. Larry replied nonchalantly, "A man can't just sit around."

The Federal Aviation Administration was not amused. Safety Inspector Neal Savoy said, "We know he broke some part of the Federal Aviation Act, and as soon as we decide which part it is, a charge will be filed."

what makes this story even more ridiculous, is that some years later, larry shot himself in the heart in a forrest in california. poor, larry.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Christ, I just saw Apocalypse Now for the first time since I was in something like middle school. What a fucking amazing masterpiece of movie that is. I never realized were "Charlie don't Surf" came from. . . Ol' Bobbie Duvall. Phenomenal Dialogue.

Speaking of the Apocalypse, anyone who's read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" should be thrilled to know that John Hillcoat is doing the movie. He directed one of my top five favorite movies, "The Proposition" (Nick Cave's first screenplay). So if you haven't read the book, do yourself a favor and read that. You'll probably cry a good manly cry.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Here at Running with the Wasters, having run out of things to write about, we offer up another ghastly installment upon which we attempt to let you, the reader, get to know us, the boys in the band, a little bit better. An entertaining read I'm sure, for the few brave, bored souls that bother with said blog. Enjoy.

Fair enough, Favorite Actress?probably leslie mann. i think she is hilarious, and totally smokin' in that older woman type way.

Have you ever read Gun's N' Ammo?no, but i like the title.

If you could have written one song througout the history of recorded music, what song would it have been?this is a ridiculously hard question to answer, and im pissed at you for asking it. though maybe not the greatest song ever written, my personal favorite song is "im only sleeping" by the beatles. so yeah, that.

How many women have you slept with (real or imagined)?a gentleman never tells, though im certainly no gentleman. my girlfriend will probably read this though. pass. (Editors Note: Noone in the band has answered this question straightforwardly or honestly. Perhaps for the stated reason)

If you could meet any historical figure, living or dead, who would it be and why?this is another difficult question to answer. i'd like to say someone more universally important or some bullshit, but honestly it would have to be john lennon. im in the business of rock n' roll, and who better to hang out with than the guy that wrote the best songs of all time? call me generic, no care, ever.

What did you get overall on the SAT's?didnt take them. fuck any test that single handedly can help determine the course of your life.

Top 5 recent albums? mystery jets - 21, my morning jacket - evil urges, vampire weekend- s/t (though our buddies in young lords fucking DESPISE this band, i think they write great tunes), the new sigur ros is really good, i wanna say the new supergrass record, but really its about a 6.5 outta 10 at best. i dont know, i havent been blown away by anything recently.

Favorite Rapper?mainstream- ludacris - dude is just fucking hilarious. great punchlines, GREAT voice. his voice is like a cartoon characters. underground- mc juice - best battle rapper ever, great freestyler. his wordplay and delivery are so on point. you got a much more serious response than expected, huh?

Chicken or the Egg: which came first?chicken. has to be. SOMEONE created that chicken.

Best Concert you've ever attended?probably the one and only time that i saw radiohead. it was unreal. borderline religious experience.

Would you rather stab yourself in the ass with a razor sharp Ginsu knife or watch your parents have sex for 20 seconds? (I'm talking a really deep stab wound, you won't be able to sit down for a month) i would rather stab myself in the ass with a ginsu knife and leave it there for 20 seconds, than watch my parents have sex.

What's wrong with our country?TOP 40 RADIO.

Favorite Author?i have cable, sorry. (Editor's Note: We strongly suggest the answer to this question as a worthy answer to the previous question.)

And finally, if you could tour with 3 bands still together today, who would it be? my morning jacket, lil jon, and andrew w.k. my morning jacket because their music is great, and the other two... c'mon, now. you know why. probably the two most raging bro's of all time. just screaming and in your face. party till you puke.